Freedom is not found in the absence of difficulty, but in our relationship to it.

Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.

Just observe whatever arises. Don't try to create anything, and don't reject anything.

Our basic nature is pure awareness that simply cognizes experience. Everything else is temporary and adventitious.

The practice of meditation is not about achieving states of bliss but about seeing things as they really are.

Real happiness lies within. It cannot be found in external objects or achievements.

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

Anxiety and excitement are the same emotion. The only difference is our attitude toward the experience.

When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce.

We deal with our mind from morning until evening, and it can be our best friend or our worst enemy.

The practice of Zen is forgetting the self in the act of uniting with something.

Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.

The difference between being caught in thoughts and being mindful of thoughts is like the difference between being in a movie and watching a movie.

The path to liberation requires both individual effort and the support of the spiritual community.

The essence of all phenomena is empty and clear like space. The nature of mind is awareness-emptiness like the sun and sky.

Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment.

Wisdom is not something we have to strive to acquire. Rather, wisdom arises naturally as we open our hearts to the truth of what is.

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

Don't try to push away the darkness. Just light a lamp. The darkness will disappear by itself.

It is never too late to turn on the light.

When mindfulness is weak, defilements are strong; when mindfulness is strong, defilements are weak.

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.

Nothing is permanent. Everything is subject to change. Being is always becoming.

Observe the reality as it is, not as you wish it to be.

Compassion is not something we develop. It arises naturally as we see the truth of what is.

In the monastery of your body, the monk of your mind must stay in retreat.

To be in harmony with the wholeness of things is not to have anxiety over imperfection.

Trees, mountains, and vines all exist in nature according to their own truth. They are born and die following their nature. They remain this way because that's what they are. They don't practice meditation or do anything special.

The practice is not about achieving special states but about seeing ordinary experience with extraordinary clarity.

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

People who study a lot but don't practice are like a ladle in a soup pot. It's in the soup every day, but it doesn't know the taste of the soup.

Work diligently. Diligently. Work patiently and persistently. Patiently and persistently. And you're bound to be successful. Bound to be successful.

Radiate boundless love towards the entire world — above, below, and across — unhindered, without ill will, without enmity.